handheld GPS

[MN]

Ok- I recently had a Legend taken from my truck. I have loved the Garmin, have the streetmaps and the Lakemaster maps. Like the idea of managing waypoints on the computer, only complaint is the screen size. I am thinking that I can buy the color Legend and see everything better and still use my maps. Any other thoughts- I know that many love the Lowrance unit.

Thanks,

MN

[BobT]

Take a look at the GPSMap76.

Bob

[PierBridge]

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Take a look at the GPSMap76.

Bob

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Thats a really nice unit.... good advice...

[Indiana Mike]

I purchased the H2Oc+ with the MN Lakemaster chip in August. I mounted the unit in the car with a bit of velcro and was able to use it all of the way from Indiana up to Northome MN. After we arrived on Island Lake I attached the unit to my portable depthfinder and used it in the rental boat all week. I powered it off my deep cycle trolling motor battery. I was very pleased with the performance and features with just a couple of exceptions. On bright sunny days it was sometimes difficult to read the screen with sunglasses on. Some of the contour lines on the Lakemaster map of Island Lake were less than precise while others were right on as verifed by the depthfinder. One big plus was being able to set waypoints and return back to them. I would certainly recommend you take a look at the H2Oc if your considering a portable unit.

Indiana Mike

[Captain B.R.K]

MN- I was once a HUGE Garmin advocate. To this day I own the GPS Map 76 unit that came out probably 5 years ago. At the time that was one of the best on the market. Fast forward to 2006 and I believe Lowrance has the best unit on the market.

I would recommend you look no further than the Lowrance H20c. I purchased this unit with the MN chip from Lakemasters and have been very happy. The screen size is much bigger than that of your legend. It also has a brighter screen and I think the pixel count is higher- making the screen more clear. With the chip, I have access to 100's of lake contours in MN. Heck, Navionics just came out with a deal that you can now get their best chip for $100. The details on the chips are much better than those of any of the Garmin units.

I know it is tough to change, but when you hear it over and over about how much better a Lowrance unit is. Then you have it and you actually see it first hand, why then that change isn't so tough

[hanson]

Garmin GPS Map 76 & Lowrance H20 are both right at the same price - about $170 or so. Tough call although the H20 lets you plug the map chips right into it.

Now when you step up to color, thats where the prices take off in different directions. Garmin color units are much more expensive than Lowrance.

I've got a H20C with both Lakemaster MN & Navionics chips and I love that thing to death!

[wplatehunter]

The H2O is hard to beat for both open water and ice fishing.

[Daze Off]

What differences do you find between the Lakemaster and Navionics chips? I have the Lakemaster but not the Navionics.

I love the H2Oc as well.

Daze Off

[schweady]

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What differences do you find between the Lakemaster and Navionics chips? I have the Lakemaster but not the Navionics.

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Been using the Lakemaster in my Expedition C since January. Love it. Got the Navionics last week for a trip to Canadian side of Sand Point Lk as the Lakemaster ended right at the border. Pros: Lots more lakes with depths mapped including some favorites in the BWCA, data on border lakes extends into Canada (Sand Point data went almost all the way to Lady Bird Rapids). Cons: Could only zoom in as far as 1/8 mile (vs. 0.02 mile on Lakemaster chip), seemed slower to refresh screen when zooming or scrolling, less adept at finding lakes or cities by name (of course, no roads or cities mapped - just lakes).

[kslipsinker]

Cons: Could only zoom in as far as 1/8 mile (vs. 0.02 mile on Lakemaster chip), seemed slower to refresh screen when zooming or scrolling, less adept at finding lakes or cities by name (of course, no roads or cities mapped - just lakes).

The Navionics chip is a multi-state package that is a 512 chip vrs a 56 chip for Lakemaster. That really slows down the refresh rate.

I sell both units, and the Lowrance outsells the Garmin hands down.

[hill7410]

My unlce works for garmin and i had all the accesories and units, i recenttly switched too lowrance and will not go back even if i get a discount, garmin is left behing in the fishing chart industry. if you want to get to see the charts go with lowrance. navionics has 5 states while lakemaster has only one state, good thing about lakemaster it has 1' incruments while navionics has 3' incruments, but after using both units i would recommend lowrance and getting the navionics chip.